Tottenham club captain Son Heung-Min has called for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Brighton to be called off due to the squad’s planned Europa League final celebrations. Ten years after he joined from Bayer Leverkusen, the South Korean finally lifted his first silverware with the club following the 1-0 win over Manchester United in Bilbao.
Son didn’t start the match, but was sent on in place of Richarlison after 67 minutes. His delight at the the final whistle and as he raised the silverware spoke volumes. The 32-year-old hads previously argued he can’t be considered a club legend until he won something with the North London club.
In his post-match interview with TNT Sports, Son was asked by Rio Ferdinand how he planned to celebrate his night of glory. After Gareth Bale chipped in with “you’ll have a few drinks tonight,” he replied: “We can celebrate today, so let’s just make it one we will never forget and maybe I will miss the flight tomorrow.”
Reminded about the game with Brighton on Sunday, Son said: “Maybe we could call it off? Then if I miss the flight, I don’t care.” Laughing, he did then clarify “I’m joking.”
It’s Tottenham’s first trophy since their 2008 League Cup win, and first in Europe for 41 years. It is also Son’s first career honour, and he admitted he was now happy for fans to consider him a Spurs icon.
“Let’s say I’m a legend now,” he said. ” In 17 years nobody has done it, so today let’s say with amazing players probably a legend of the club. This is what I’ve always dreamed for. Today is the day it happened. I am the happiest man in the world.”
He also referred to the side’s poor domestic campaign, that has yielded 21 Premier League defeats. However, he praised his team-mates for staying strong despite heavy criticism, and admitted he felt the pressure as much as anyone in the build-up to Bilbao.
“When you look at the whole season there will always be some situation you have a tough time but we as players always stuck together,” he added. “I felt the pressure. I wanted it so badly. The last seven days I was dreaming about this game every night. It finally happened and I can sleep easy now.”
